nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for monday, march 21, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

ABC (19.08 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1) surged to the top spot on Monday thanks to the return of "Dancing With the Stars" (22.27 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.1, #1) and a new "Castle" (12.70 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #3).

CBS (8.81 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.8, #2) then claimed the silver with its mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (7.95 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T5), "Mad Love" (6.55 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.3, #8), a repeat of "Two and a Half Men" (9.14 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.6, #7), "Mike & Molly" (9.63 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.0, #4) and "Hawaii Five-0" (9.79 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.9, #T5). "Mother" and "Molly" were both at season lows.

Next up was FOX (7.81 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #3) with originals of "House" (9.31 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.4, #2) and "The Chicago Code" (6.31 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.9, #9).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.53 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) offered up new episodes of "Chuck" (4.32 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.5, #11), "The Event" (4.05 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #12) and "Harry's Law" (8.21 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #10) - all of which once again matched or hit new series lows.

And finally, repeats of "90210" (0.78 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) and "Gossip Girl" (0.53 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #14) on The CW (0.65 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Castle (17.90% vs. 2/28/11), Mad Love (9.50% vs. 2/28/11), Hawaii Five-0 (7.40% vs. 2/21/11), The Chicago Code (0.00%), The Event (0.00%), House (-2.90%), Harry's Law (-5.90%), Chuck (-6.30%), Mike & Molly (-11.80% vs. 2/28/11), How I Met Your Mother (-14.70% vs. 2/28/11).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 3.0/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.7/7; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.6/9; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.9/6.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.9/4; "Nightline," 1.2/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/5 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.5/3 with an encore).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/22/10):

The return of "Dancing With the Stars" (23.79 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.3, #1) and a new "Castle" (12.94 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 3.6, #4) put ABC (20.24 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.4, #1) back in front on Monday.

Settling for the silver then was CBS (11.03 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.9, #2) despite new episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" (8.47 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 3.5, #5), "Rules of Engagement" (8.54 million viewers, #T6; adults 18-49: 3.3, #T6), "Two and a Half Men" (14.36 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.0, #3), "The Big Bang Theory" (13.36 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 5.2, #2) and "CSI: Miami" (10.73 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.3, #T6).

Next up was FOX (6.83 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) with a repeat of "House" (5.13 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.7, #11) followed by a new "24" (8.54 million viewers, #T6; adults 18-49: 2.7, #8).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.23 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4) offered up new episodes of "Chuck" (5.43 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.9, #9), "Trauma" (4.34 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #12) and "Law & Order" (5.93 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.8, #10).

And finally, new episodes of "Life Unexpected" (1.96 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.9, #14) and "Gossip Girl" (1.86 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #13) on The CW (1.91 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research